BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 804 (Roger Hernández) - Shorthand reporters:  continuing  
          education requirements
          
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          |Version: March 23, 2015         |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 7 -  |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: June 22, 2015     |Consultant: Mark McKenzie       |
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          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File. 







          Bill  
          Summary:  AB 804 would require the Court Reporters Board of  
          California (Board) to adopt regulations establishing minimum  
          continuing education requirements as a condition for renewal of  
          a court reporters certificate, and to establish a procedure for  
          approving providers of continuing education courses.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           One-time staff costs of $51,000 in 2016-17 and $43,000 in  
            2017-18 for the Board to develop and adopt regulations to  







          AB 804 (Roger Hernández)                               Page 1 of  
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            establish continuing education requirements and establish a  
            process for approving providers of continuing education.  
            (Court Reporters Fund).

           Ongoing staff costs of $21,000 in 2017-18 and $34,000 annually  
            thereafter to process continuing education documentation from  
            licensees. (Court Reporters Fund)

           Negligible revenue increase to the extent the Board  
            established the maximum fee of $40 to approve continuing  
            education providers.  The Board has only identified eight  
            potential providers currently offering courses or seminars  
            that would address the bill's continuing education  
            requirements.


          Background:  Existing law provides for the certification and regulation of  
          shorthand reporters and the regulation of shorthand reporting  
          corporations by the Board.  There are currently approximately  
          7,000 certified persons who have met the basic minimum standards  
          of practice to provide the public with competent and impartial  
          verbatim reporting of depositions and oral court and judicial  
          proceedings.  The Board also specifies curriculum for court  
          reporting schools, receives and investigates complaints,  
          disciplines court reporters and schools, and administers a fund  
          that provides free transcripts to indigent civil litigants.
          Existing law authorizes the Board to charge a fee of $40 for  
          filing an application for each examination for a certified  
          shorthand reporter certificate (commonly known as court  
          reporters certificate), an initial license fee of $125, and an  
          annual renewal fee of $125.  The fees are currently established  
          at the statutory maximum.  In order to obtain a license, court  
          reporters must attend a Board-approved court reporting school  
          and pass two written exams and a performance exam.


          Court reporters who are employees of the court system (known as  
          "official" court reporters), are required by the Administrative  
          Office of the Courts to take at least eight hours of continuing  
          education every two years as a condition of employment.   
          "Freelance" court reporters, individuals hired by court  
          reporting businesses, firms, or attorneys to report depositions,  
          do not have a continuing education requirement.









          AB 804 (Roger Hernández)                               Page 2 of  
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          Proposed Law:  
            AB 804 would require the Board to adopt regulations to  
          establish minimum continuing education requirements for renewal  
          of a certified shorthand reporter certificate by July 1, 2016,  
          and require a certificate holder to submit proof of completion  
          of continuing education as a condition of certificate renewal no  
          sooner than six months after the adoption of the regulations.   
          The bill would authorize the Board to establish exceptions to  
          the continuing education requirements for a certificate holder  
          who cannot meet the requirements for reasons of health, military  
          service, or undue hardship.
          The bill also requires the Board to establish a procedure for  
          approving providers of continuing education courses, and  
          authorizes the Board to establish a fee of up to $40 on  
          providers of continuing education courses.




          Related  
          Legislation:  SB 671 (Price, 2011) was substantially similar to  
          this bill and would have required the Board to adopt regulations  
          to establish continuing education requirements as a condition  
          for certificate renewal and to establish a procedure for  
          approving providers of continuing education.  SB 671 was vetoed  
          by Governor Brown with the following statement:
               This bill would make license renewal for court reporters  
               contingent on continuing education. The whole idea of  
               legally mandated "continuing education" is suspect in my  
               mind. Professionals already are motivated to hone their  
               skills - or risk not getting business. Requiring them to  
               pay fees to "continuing education providers" is an  
               unwarranted burden.


          AB 2189 (Karnette, 2008) was also substantially similar to this  
          bill and was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who noted that  
          the proposed continuing education requirements impose additional  
          burdens on a regulated profession without a compelling need.










          AB 804 (Roger Hernández)                               Page 3 of  
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          Staff  
          Comments:  Staff notes that the Court Reporters Fund currently  
          has a structural deficit.  According to the Fund Condition  
          Statement in the Governor's Budget, the fund balance has  
          declined from $1.1 million at the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year  
          to $776,000 at the end of the current fiscal year, and the fund  
          is projected to have a reserve of only $368,000 at the end of  
          the 2015-16 fiscal year.  Licensing and regulatory fees generate  
          approximately $935,000 annually, and state operations  
          expenditures are approximately $1 million annually.  In  
          addition, there are annual transfers of $300,000 to the  
          Transcript Reimbursement Fund that is used to provide free  
          transcripts to indigent civil litigants.  All licensing fees are  
          currently at the statutory maximums.  At the current pace, the  
          fund will have a negative balance in 2017-18.  The Board is up  
          for sunset review hearings in the coming year, at which time the  
          structural funding deficit will be discussed in detail.  Staff  
          notes that the costs related to this bill, although minor, would  
          exacerbate the structural deficit in the Court Reporters Fund.


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